The Dragon and the Lizard

A long time ago, in a faraway forest, there lived a little dragon. Little Dragon loved to play. He would spend all day flying around the forest and chasing bugs. When the sun began to set he would build a toasty fire by his favorite spot near the lake and spend the whole night watching the stars until he fell asleep. It was very fun, but it was also very lonely.

None of the other forest creatures would play with Little Dragon. They all thought he was bad, like the mean dragons near the village. Little Dragon tried to be kind and make friends, but the others still wouldn’t play with him.

Not the rabbits or the deer who pranced in the fields,

“Go away! Your fire will burn our fur off!”

Not the pretty mermaids who swam in the lake,

“Shoo, shoo! You bad dragon, you’ll snatch us up and fly us from the water with your wings!”

And, especially, not the humans who came from the village,

“Gah! Another horrible dragon! We won’t become a meal for you!”

Even the other dragons wouldn’t play with Little Dragon. They all thought he was too small, and laughed at how he spent all day playing instead of teasing the villagers. Little Dragon was very lonely.

One day, Little Dragon was chasing a shiny beetle through the forest. Before he knew it he was lost. He was surprised to see new trees and rocks that he didn’t know. He had never seen this part of the forest before. As he wandered around he suddenly heard a voice.

“Wow!” It shouted. “You are huge!”

Little Dragon looked around in surprise. Who was that? Surely, they weren’t talking to him. He was the smallest of all the dragons. Little Dragon saw no one.

“Here, here! On the tree, right next to you!” It said again.

Little Dragon looked over and saw a small lizard sitting on the tree. The lizard smiled at him and scurried down the tree. He stood in front of Little Dragon, looking up at him as he did. The lizard's mouth fell open in shock.

“Wow! You’re even bigger up close!” Lizard exclaimed.

“No, you’re wrong,” said Little Dragon. “I am very very small. In fact, everyone teases me about how small I am.”

“Small!” Lizard cried. “But you’re the biggest lizard I’ve ever seen in my life!”

“I’m not a lizard,” said Little Dragon. 

“Sure you are!” said Lizard. “We look exactly the same!”

Little Dragon was starting to feel upset. This lizard was making fun of him, he was sure of it. A dragon who looks like a lizard! Who had ever heard of such a thing?

“We do not!” Huffed Little Dragon. “I have all these shiny scales!”

“So do I,” said Lizard, spinning around. “They’re just small.”

Little Dragon looked. It was true, Lizard had many tiny scales shining all over his body. That didn’t mean anything though, even fish had scales.

“Well, I have these sharp claws!” Little Dragon said, stepping forward so Lizard could see.

“Me too,” Lizard said, reaching out his arm to show Little Dragon. “It’s how I can climb the trees.”

Little Dragon looked. Again, Lizard was right. Tiny, sharp claws were at the ends of his fingers. Little Dragon was curious now. There was no way they could be the same.

“What about sharp teeth?” Little Dragon said, flashing a toothy grin.

“Yeah, yeah!” Lizard shouted, doing the same.

His little, sharp teeth gleamed in the sunlight. Little Dragon was amazed. Were lizards and dragons the same after all? They looked very similar. 

Little Dragon was excited. He had never met a dragon as small as him. Maybe they could be good friends.

“Do you want to go chase bugs?” Little Dragon asked.

“I love bugs!” Lizard squealed. “They’re my favorite food!”

Little Dragon had never tried to eat a bug before, but maybe he would try now. He stood back and spread his wings wide. Lizard looked at him in shock. Little Dragon waited, but Lizard didn’t spread his wings. Wasn’t he coming?

“Why don’t you spread your wings?” Little Dragon asked sadly. “Don’t you want to play?”

“I do,” said Lizard, “but I don’t have wings.”

So he didn’t have wings. Maybe lizards and dragons were different. Little Dragon thought carefully, he didn’t want to lose his new friend. The sun was beginning to set. Another idea came to mind.

“Well, that’s okay. Why don’t we make a fire and watch the stars together instead?” Little Dragon asked.

“Oh, the stars are beautiful,” said Lizard. “Let’s do that!”

Little Dragon hurried to gather some nearby sticks before the sun set too much. He piled them all together in a place where they could watch the stars. 

“Why don’t you light it?” Little dragon asked, deciding to give his new friend the honor.

“Okay,” said Lizard.

Lizard grabbed two sticks and started to rub them together. Little Dragon was confused. Why wasn’t Lizard using his fire?

“Isn’t it faster to breathe on them?” Little Dragon asked.

Lizard stared at him a moment, but shrugged and blew some air on the sticks. Nothing happened. Little Dragon was shocked. Did Lizard not have fire either? Little dragon blew his fire on the sticks and a fire quickly crackled to life. Lizard’s jaw hung open. Little Dragon just hung his head down.

All the other forest creatures hated Little Dragon's wings and fire, maybe Lizard would too. Little Dragon was sad, he really wanted to be Lizard's friend. He was sure Lizard would tell him to go away, just like the others.

“What’s wrong?” Lizard asked instead.

“I really wanted to be friends,” said Little Dragon sadly.

“Well, why can’t we?” Lizard said.

“Well, you have no wings,” said Little Dragon. “How can we chase bugs together if you have no wings? I’ll be too fast for you.”

Lizard thought for a second. Suddenly, he scurried up Little Dragon’s leg and sat on top of his head.

“See, I am very small,” Lizard said, smiling. “I can ride here while we chase bugs!”

Little Dragon thought about it. It could work. Lizard was very light, and his small claws wouldn’t hurt Little Dragon’s big scales at all.

“Well, what about at night? You can’t light a fire,” said Little Dragon.

“But you can,” said Lizard, scurrying back down and laying next to the fire. “I can still look up and see the stars with you. We both have eyes!”

That was true. You only needed eyes to look at stars. Lizard patted the ground next to him and Little Dragon laid down. They watched together as stars began to appear in the sky. They watched all night until they both fell asleep.

After that, Little Dragon was never alone. Lizard would ride on his head as they chased bugs around the forest. Lizard would eat any bugs they caught during the day. At night, Lizard would gather up wood and Little Dragon would light their fire near the lake. They would sit there all night talking and laughing. Lizard was happy to have such a unique lizard for a friend, and Little Dragon was happy to have Lizard.